2009 NY Master Forest Owner Volunteer Program (MFO)
note from Diana Bryant
This year we will be conducting a volunteer training workshop on: Sept. 9 – 13, at Cornell University’s Arnot Teaching and Research Forest VanEtten, NY (south of Ithaca in Schuyler Co.)
Applications due by Aug. 19, 2009
Volunteers can commute daily, or accommodations are available free. There is a $50 fee for attendance to help defray lodging, publications, food, and equipment costs of the 4-day training. Both workshops combine classroom and outdoor field experiences on a wide variety of subjects including; tree identification, finding boundaries, forest ecology, sawtimber economics, wildlife and sawtimber management, communication techniques, and a visit to a nearby sawmill.
If you know clientele you have worked with, or people from your association (including yourself) who would make good volunteers, please send me their names and addresses and we will send them an informational packet about the program and an application form. More information about the program is on the MFO website www.cornellmfo.info. Promotional information and application forms regarding the training are on that site by clicking on Volunteer Solicitation Materials. Please consider using the press release in your organization’s e-mail releases and/or newsletters.
The goal of the MFO Program is to provide private, nonindustrial forest owners with the information and encouragement necessary to manage their forests to enhance ownership satisfaction. MFOs do not perform management activities nor give professional advice. Rather, they meet with forest owners to listen to their concerns and questions, and offer advice as to sources of assistance based on their training and personal experience. The success of this volunteer program is grounded in the power of “peer” counseling. Knowledgeable and experienced forest owner neighbors can interact as unbiased peers with less-experienced forest owners. There are 199 active volunteers across NYS who annually interact directly with hundreds of neighbors and indirectly with thousands through various outreach activities, such as newspaper articles, educational workshops and work with youth groups. These informed and dedicated volunteers are a great resource in their communities to assist other organizations and agencies in promoting the wise use of forest resources.
Please take a moment as soon as possible to jot down a few candidates or forward this request directly to candidates. Your help is critical to the continued success of the MFO Program and contributes greatly to our collective mission of involving forest owners in wise stewardship.
Thank you very much!
Please send candidate Names and Addresses to:
Diana Bryant, 108 Fernow Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853
Phone: 607-255-2115, FAX: 607-255-2815, E-mail: dlt5@cornell.edu
0 comments Lori Bushway | Various